[ericx85]

Hey guys, been saving up some cash. Bought a Senn 800S last year and have been loving them. Going to be upgrading my DAC/AMP setup next from a Schiit Uber Bifrost/Lyr 2.

Pretty sure I want to go to a Yggdrasil for my DAC, but I'm unsure if a Ragnarok or Mjolnir 2 will serve my headphones better. Ive done some reading through threads, have seen mentions or questions of a comparison but haven't found much of an answer.

I would like to go with the Rag just so I wouldn't have to go tube searching when they eventually die, but if the Mjolnir really is a decent bit better for the 800S I wouldnt mind the hassle.

Thanks in advance!

 

[HoloSpice]

Get Audio-gd Master 9.

http://www.audio-gd.com/Master/Master-9/Master-9EN.htm

 

[koven]

There's a world of options beyond Schiit at ~$2K. While Yggy is an excellent DAC option, I personally felt the Rag/Mj2 were both very mediocre amps. I especially disliked Rag + HD800S, I recall it was a dry etchy sound and fatiguing to me, overall a pretty lifeless and thin combo.
Tubes last for years I wouldn't worry about them dying.. I think tubes are ideal w/ HD800S, fleshes out the mid and smooths the treble. I recommend the Dragon IHA-1, great for the price. Some alternative tube amps in this price range you can research and consider include Woo Audio, Ampandsound, Feliks, etc.

 

[Rhamnetin]

Mjolnir 2 has the benefit of tube rolling, which the Ragnarok would benefit from. As koven said though, you have plenty of other options, no need to limit yourself to one brand. The Ragnarok is known to sound bright and harsh, and being all solid state, you're stuck with the sound. I would choose one of the amps below for the HD 800S:

http://www.quad-hifi.co.uk/product-detail.php?pid=35
http://www.divertech.com/aslmgheadotl32.html

Hard to beat for the price.

 

[SearchOfSub]

Hey guys, been saving up some cash. Bought a Senn 800S last year and have been loving them. Going to be upgrading my DAC/AMP setup next from a Schiit Uber Bifrost/Lyr 2.

Pretty sure I want to go to a Yggdrasil for my DAC, but I'm unsure if a Ragnarok or Mjolnir 2 will serve my headphones better. Ive done some reading through threads, have seen mentions or questions of a comparison but haven't found much of an answer.

I would like to go with the Rag just so I wouldn't have to go tube searching when they eventually die, but if the Mjolnir really is a decent bit better for the 800S I wouldnt mind the hassle.

Thanks in advance!

Why would you ever buy Schiit products when you have 2K to spend? SCHIIT Audio was descent at giving broke ass people options for Tubes and high power for Hifiman headphones - Entry level equipment.

At 2K i would go for the Benchmark 3 DAC. I read from online reviews it even beats the Chord Hugo 2 and every DAC out there ATM.

 

[Rhamnetin]

Why would you ever buy Schiit products when you have 2K to spend? SCHIIT Audio was descent at giving broke ass people options for Tubes and high power for Hifiman headphones - Entry level equipment.

At 2K i would go for the Benchmark 3 DAC. I read from online reviews it even beats the Chord Hugo 2 and every DAC out there ATM.

That DAC cannot possibly beat every other DAC from an objective point of view. Seems a run of the mill higher end delta sigma oversampling DAC, tailor made to get whooped by less expensive Chord DACs. I'd expect the Yggdrasil and especially the Holo Audio Spring DAC level 3 to outperform it technically, the latter being the king of its price range.

 

[SearchOfSub]

That DAC cannot possibly beat every other DAC from an objective point of view. Seems a run of the mill higher end delta sigma oversampling DAC, tailor made to get whooped by less expensive Chord DACs. I'd expect the Yggdrasil and especially the Holo Audio Spring DAC level 3 to outperform it technically, the latter being the king of its price range.

It's using the latest ESS Sabre chip and although I thought I would never get used to Sabre sound the Dragonfly RED completely changed all that so I do have high hopes for the Benchmark 3 DAC.

I am forming my positive opinion of the DAC based on 2 professional reviews and 1 owner review here on headfi saying "it's a remarkable DAC".

The other pro reviewer is actually from Whathifi.com who have always awarded Chord for their sound. But here is their quote on their review of the Benchmark 3.

"We’re pleased with the DAC’s ability to deliver a huge and expansive soundstage populated with nicely layered instrumentation. It remains controlled and composed even when the music becomes demanding, yet uncovers a level of nuance and drama all but class-leading rivals such as Chord’s Hugo tend to miss out on. "

And then there is another Pro-review from a different source giving the Benchmark 3 DAC higher score than even the Hugo TT saying it is currently the only DAC that is better than the Hugo 2 and the Hugo TT even around the same price range.

You go online and there seem to be nothing but good review about this DAC so I recommend OP check it out.

This DAC is also $600-$700 cheaper than Chord Hugo 2 priced at $1800 without the Amp and $2,200 with the intergrated Amp.

Schiit Yggdarsil is a waste of money in my opinion.

 

[Nautrachkfriend]

It's using the latest ESS Sabre chip

Isn't the latest ES Sabre chip the 9038PRO? Not the ES 9028PRO the Benchmark DAC3 uses?

 

[bagwell359]

The Ragnarok is known to sound bright and harsh, and being all solid state, you're stuck with the sound. I would choose one of the amps below for the HD 800S:

http://www.quad-hifi.co.uk/product-detail.php?pid=35
http://www.divertech.com/aslmgheadotl32.html

Hard to beat for the price.

The 800* is a dust dry definition uber alles can. No amp that's neutral or bright sounding, should be paired with it. The 800* more than about any other set of phones I have heard need to be filled out and mellowed out by the warm THD/liquid glow of tubes or at least tube hybrids.

It's fair to say that the Rag is a poor match for the 800*. But harsh - across the board? No. Audeze and HFM HE-500's certainly appreciate it. The pre-amp section has a lightly shortened soundstage at the outside edges, the amp section has kick a** bass, is not sweet like a Pass X-150, but in gain 2 beats every AB amp (within its wattage limitations) I can recall.

Also it's a viable speaker driver - capable of driving speakers that medium or above sensitivity and for also sounds great on the Maggie .7i - not the 1.7i however.

 

[Alcophone]

Isn't the latest ES Sabre chip the 9038PRO? Not the ES 9028PRO the Benchmark DAC3 uses?

Apparently, the ES9038PRO, ES9028PRO and ES9026PRO were released at the same time: http://www.esstech.com/index.php/en...mance-bar-unprecedented-140-db-dynamic-range/

 

[steve468]

I don't have much experience with other amps, but I have owned both Schiits with the HD 800S. I thought the Ragnarok was a poor match with the Senns, giving them a sterile lifeless sound. The sound was probably more clean and accurate and the bass was much better, but the sound was not engaging, even harsh. With upgraded tubes on the Mjolnir, the soundstage was much wider, and the sound much more pleasant. I also owned an older Burson HA-160 that I was able to compare to the Mjolnir and, though it's been a while, my impression was still the same: the HD 800S needs tubes!

 

[Svatopluk]

Got to disagree with most of the comments above. Not only do I believe the HD800S does not necessarily need tubes, but it's also not dry, etchy or lifeless when used with the Rag/Yggy-2 combo. My ears may be shot or maybe I'm just an outlier, or perhaps it's just a case of personal preference.

 

[steve468]

Oh, absolutely it's personal preference. I'm just trying to describe what I heard, and maybe I'm making it sound too negative because I wasn't a fan of the Rag versus the Mjolnir for these particular headphones. But to me, dry is how I would describe the sound with the Ragnarok; there just wasn't enough meat on the bones for me. For example, I really enjoy a nice distorted guitar, but I just thought that with the Rag guitars had a bit of a static-y distortion rather than something with weight behind it. It made the sound too clean for my taste. I don't know, I guess it's difficult for me to describe. I'm also using Gungnir, and have never heard an Yggdrasil, so that might have made a difference. And of course, this impression is in my opinion, to my ears, etc.

 

[Svatopluk]

I see where you're coming from. I'm not a fan of headphones like the Z1 or LCD-2, too much weight in their presentation. It seems like the more bass, the less likely my ears and brain can separate the different elements in sound.